Imperfect Timing
by the-kings-tail-fin
Summary: Lightning needs a little motivation to work up the courage for a proposal, and sometimes advice from a blunt, older racer is all it takes.


He'd been thinking about it a lot lately. Every time a commercial would come on the TV that advertised jewelry, he'd glance over at her to see if she expressed any interest in any of the pieces. She never did. And she never talked about wanting any.

 _But it had been eleven years._ Most couples were married with kids by that point in their relationship. Had he really been so into his racing career that he'd put their relationship on the back burner? It didn't feel like it. They were closer than ever. But still, something was missing.

He tried to push the thought away. They were happy as they were. Maybe the timing wasn't right. Maybe she wanted to stay this way. His mind filled with excuses that kept him from ever making a final decision to go through with it.

One day during the off season, the Weathers family stopped by the town to visit. Lynda had been making plans with Sally and Flo for the past several weeks to have another girls' day out, and Cal wanted to visit his friends. Of course Strip came too, as he had a fondness for the town and its residents. They didn't treat him and his family as celebrities, but as everyday travelers, and he appreciated that.

"It's always good to see some familiar faces!" Flo exclaimed as they pulled up to her station.

"Welcome back!" Sally welcomed them all, driving over with Cruz and Lightning from the direction of the Cozy Cone.

"Hey, everybody!" Cal exclaimed, happy to see his friends.

They shot the breeze for several minutes while Flo fixed them all something to drink. By the time they'd finished their refreshments, Cruz had challenged Cal to a race around Willy's Butte, Lightning had been called old four different times, and Cal had been insulted twice. Fired up, Cal and Cruz took off almost immediately towards the dirt track.

"So are you girls ready to go drivin'?" Flo asked, putting her serving plate down inside the cafe. "We been plannin' this trip for weeks, now."

"You bet!" Lynda answered enthusiastically.

"I was ready days ago." Sally laughed. "Let's go already!"

Flo and Lynda drove onto the road as Lightning and Sally bade temporary farewell to each other, out of habit. Strip sat by silently and observed, doing the mental math. It didn't make sense.

Lightning watched her drive off, and then turned back to find the King staring at him.

"Can I ask you a question?" Strip asked him when everyone else was out of earshot.

"Yeah, anything." Lightning backed in next to the gas pump directly across from him.

"The heck is wrong with you?"

Lightning was taken off guard. "Uh, sorry? What?"

"Tell me if I'm readin' the situation wrong, but ain't it been over ten years since you met her?" Strip continued. "What are you waiting for?"

Lightning just sighed and looked down at the ground. He didn't have an answer. He didn't have anything _close_ to an answer. "I don't know. I guess I just don't know if she's ready."

"Kid, listen to me." Strip held his attention. "I'm gonna ask you some questions that I want you to answer as honestly as possible."

"Uh, alright." Lightning was a little intimidated. Every bit of advice he'd ever received from the King had been very to the point, whether he liked it or not.

"Has she ever, at any point, talked to you about marriage?"

"Yeah, we talk about it pretty frequently, I mean, about possibilities and whatnot." Lightning shrugged. That was pretty typical, right? Girls love to talk about getting married.

"Do you ever see yourself leaving her, or falling for someone else?"

"What?" Lightning shook himself in denial. "No! Of course not!"

"And do you think she'd find someone better than you?"

"I mean, I don't know. It doesn't seem like it." Lightning answered hesitantly. Eleven years of dating was a pretty good track record. She hadn't gotten sick of him yet.

"Hmm." Strip thought about how he should phrase the next question. "One more. If somethin' were to happen to her tomorrow, and you never got to see or talk to her again, what regrets would you have?"

Lightning cast his gaze downward again and furrowed his brow. What if? What if something bad happened? It was always a possibility, however unlikely. All the things they never got to do. All the things he never got to tell her.

Strip waited in silence for a few moments as Lightning thought about it, and then continued. "We all only have a limited bit of time here, kid. We ain't immortal. If you know what you want, you need to go out there and get it before it's too late. Think of all the time you waste waitin' around for the perfect moment. Think of what else you could be using that time for."

"Yeah, no, I get your point." Lightning said, feeling guilty. He had wasted a lot of time, there was no question about it.

"I can about guarantee you she's waitin' for you to do somethin' about it." Strip told him. "Trust me on that one. If you know she's the one, you need to suck it up and ask the question. You've kept her waitin' long enough, for cryin' out loud."

"But how do I know when the time is right?" Lightning suddenly had a million questions. "How to I know what engagement ring to get? I want it all to be perfect. She deserves the best I can give her."

"There's never going to be a perfect time, Lightnin'." Strip laughed a little. "If you wait for the perfect time, you'll wait your entire life away. And it's alright to not be perfect. It's the imperfections in a memory that people remember the most. As for the ring, don't worry about what you think she'd want. If she ain't specified by now, she don't really care. You need to get her somethin' that you like, somethin' that reminds you of her. It's the sentiment, not the diamonds that matter."

Lightning sat in silence, slowly processing everything he'd just heard. It took hearing it from someone else for it to really make sense. The red racer suddenly felt a strong urge to take action. The King was right. Time was limited, and he had to make the most of what he had. And he wanted to do it with the person he loved the most. No holds barred.

"Thank you, King." Lightning looked up from being lost in his thoughts. "I… I needed that. I think I have a lot of work to do."

"Glad I could help, kid." Strip smiled. "I'll be keeping a watch out for the announcement. But in the meantime, ain't there a new racing center 'round here somewhere? I'd like to see it."

"Oh, yeah!" Lightning brightened up. "Come on, I'll give you a tour."

They drove out of the gas station and onto the road towards the new racing center. Lightning didn't say a whole lot until they arrived, still dwelling on his call to action. A plan was starting to form in his mind, and he suddenly couldn't wait to set it into motion.


End file.
